Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Champs
Presented by Ocean and Earth

Surfing South Africa
Mossel Bay South Africa
15 - 18 October 2009

Border dominate Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships for third year in a row

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 19 October, 2009 : - - A strong and highly motivated Border team deservedly won the team title at the 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships which was completed after four days of competition in great conditions at Outer and Inner Pool in Mossel Bay on Sunday (October 18).

This is the third year in a row that the team from East London has won the Masters Cup and underlines the depth and passion there is for Masters surfing in Border. Their winning total of 31,000 points was less than the 34,000 points they posted in winning the title at Nahoon Reef in East London last year but the Border side finished some 6000 points ahead of second placed Central KZN who were just 500 points ahead of Western Province.

Hosts Southern Cape were fourth, beating Eastern Province into, who were second in 2008, into fifth place this year. Boland came sixth and Southern KZN were seventh. Local surfer Llewellyn Whittaker used his local knowledge to produce a blistering display of competition surfing in the Senior (Over 30) final, posting a 9.5 and a 7 point ride to score 16.50, the highest winning margin of all the finals.

This is Whittaker’s first National title and it certainly played a major role in moving his province, Southern Cape, from sixth place in 2008 to fourth this year. Craig Els of Southern KZN was second, Paul Proctor of Border came third and WP surfer Graeme Field came fourth.

In the Over 35 Masters Division, 2002 SA Masters champion Andrew Banks of Southern KZN posted a 9.25 wave score which gave him the edge over defending champion Wayne Monk of Border. Current Surfing South Africa PST leader, Gary van Wieringen of Southern KZN, was third and Boland stalwart Stephan Lindeque came fourth.

Defending Grandmasters champion David Malherbe posted a heat score of 15,25 in successfully defending his title, beating Rob Moore Boyle, the lone Central KZN representative in this final into second place. Andre Malherbe and Border team mate Gareth Sepp were third and fourth respectively.

Nick Pike of Border improved on his runner up spot in the Kahunas (over 45) division last year by taking the title this time ahead of Western Province surfer Sean Jerram. Michael Brent of Border was third and Trevor Hansen of EP came fourth.

Two time World Champion and four time SA Champion Chris Knutsen of Central KZN added another title to his list when he beat team mate Grantley Read in the Grandkahunas (over 50) final. Jeremy Zinn of WP repeated his 2008 third place and Nick Krone of Southern Cape was fourth.

EP’s Glen Bowles won the Veterans (over 55) final beating Southern Cape legend Leonard Giles into second sport. John Elliott of Eastern Province came third and Heinie Meiring of Border was fourth.

Over 100 surfers participated in the fifth edition of the Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships which made history when it became the first ever Surfing South Africa Interprovincial tournament to take place at Mossel Bay.

FULL RESULTS OF 2009 Reef Wetsuits SA Masters Championships

SENIORS (OVER 30)
1. LLEWELLYN WHITTAKER : SCAPE
2. CRAIG ELS : SKZN
3. PAUL PROCTOR : BOR
4. GRAEME FIELD : WP

MASTERS (OVER 35)
1. ANDREW BANKS : SKZN
2. WAYNE MONK : BOR
3. GARY VAN WIERINGEN : SKZN
4. STEPHAN LINDEQUE : BOLAND

GRANDMASTERS (OVER 40)
1. DAVE MALHERBE : BOR
2. ROB MOORE – BOYLE : CKZN
3. ANDRE MALHERBE : BOR
4. GARETH SEPP : BOR

KAHUNAS (OVER 45)
1. NICK PIKE : BOR
2. SEAN JERRAM : WP
3. MIKE BRENT : BOR
4. TREVOR HANSEN : EP

GRANDKAHUNAS (OVER 50)
1. CHRIS KNUTSEN : CKZN
2. GRANTLEY READ : CKZN
3. JEREMY ZINN : WP
4. NICK KRONE : S/CAPE

VETERANS (OVER 55)
1. GLEN BOWLES : EP
2. LEONARD GILES : SCAPE
3. JOHN ELLIOTT : EP
4. HEINIE MEIRING : BOR

PROVINCIAL TEAMS
1. BORDER : 31200
2. CENTRAL KWAZULU-NATAL : 25554
3. WESTERN PROVINCE : 25000
4. SOUTHERN CAPE : 24490
5. EASTERN PROVINCE : 23860
6. BOLAND : 21844
7. SOUTHERN KZN : 20722

www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za

HEATHER CLARKE

Heather Clark Injured in Car Accident
OCTOBER 22, 2009
South African Surfing Champion, 2008 ISA World Masters Women’s Champion, and former World Championship Tour surfer, Heather Clark, is recovering in the hospital today after being seriously injured in a car accident near her home in Port Shepstone.

According to reports an alleged drunk driver lost control of his vehicle and smashed into the car that Heather was driving, splitting it in two. She suffered a serious head injury that required 22 stitches and is being assessed for other injuries at the Hibiscus Coast Hospital today.

The alleged drunk driver, who was uninjured, was arrested after the accident and spent the night in jail. Heather has no medical aid and apart from a small surf and swimming school, is not employed. Her injuries will not only cost her a fortune in medical expenses, but will prevent her from earning an income while she recovers.

Anyone interested in assisting this great South African surfer with her medical costs can do so by going to www.surfingsouthafrica.co.za and reading the story on the website. Bank details are included in the story.

MASTERS TEAM VISIT NAMIBIA

South African Masters Surfing Team Visits Namibia
The 2009 South African Masters Surfing Team has returned home after spending ten fantastic days in Swakopmund, Namibia. During the visit, the team competed in two events against an enthusiastic group of local Namibian surfers.

The SA Masters team included World Champion Marc Wright of Durban, multi capped World Championship finalists David and Andre Malherbe of East London, 1992 World Surfing Games runner up Carl Roux of Umhlanga and new caps Dave Fish and Mike Brent of East London and Gary Van Wieringen of Warner Beach.

The team was coached by 1978 World Champion Ant Brodowicz and was accompanied by Penny and Hannes Stemmet of Somerset West who assisted in the running and adjudication of the events. 2008 World Masters Champion and current South African champion, Heather Clark of Port Shepstone, who was badly injured in a horrific motor car accident two weeks ago, was unable to travel with the team.

While in Namibia the SA Masters Team assisted the Namibian Surfing Association in the coordination and running of events and worked on the development of judges and coaches in the region.

Both South Africa and Namibia are members of the International Surfing Association but while South Africa has attended every ISA sanctioned event since 1992, Namibia’s attendance at an ISA tournament has been limited due to their lack of funds. The last time Namibia competed in an ISA contest was in Durban in 2002.

The objective during this visit by the team that won the title at both the 2007 and 2008 ISA World Masters Championships was to assist and encourage the Namibian Surfing Association to send teams to the ISA World events scheduled for 2010.